East Midlands Ambulance Service crews spent 6,000 hours waiting to drop off patients at hospitals in Lincolnshire in December
Ambulance crews wasted more than 6,000 hours waiting to drop off patients at Lincolnshire hospitals in December, new data shows.
During the month it took an average of 57 minutes for hospitals to accept patients – nearly four times longer than the target of 15 minutes.
Richard Henderson, chief executive of East Midlands Ambulance Service which covers Lincolnshire, has said he is concerned for both patients and EMAS staff because of the delays.
The county’s hospitals came under heavy pressure during this winter’s flu and Covid season, with thousands more patients coming to A&E compared to the same time last year.
Ambulances lost a total of 6,425 hours waiting outside hospitals, according to early data from December.
The figures were revealed in a report for Lincolnshire County Council’s health committee next week.
It says that the chief executive of EMAS “continues to be concerned for the safety of patients and the welfare of staff due to hospital handover delays, which were significant in some hospitals”.
“The chief executive stated that the situation was not acceptable, and he had asked each NHS system in the region to undertake an urgent review to support the rapid release of ambulance crews from hospital.”
According to the figures, 21,219 people went to the emergency departments in Lincoln and Boston in December.
This was an extra 2,300 people than December 2023 – around a 12 per cent increase.
The statistics show that the trust was able to see more people within the recommended four hours – just over 60 per cent in the last month of 2024, compared to 57 per cent in 2023.
This remains below the English national average of 71 per cent. However, the number waiting for 12 hours or more also jumped by nearly 100 to 1049.
A United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust spokesperson said: “Like many other trusts, both regionally and nationally, we have seen an increased demand on our urgent and emergency care services. At times, this has resulted in delays in our emergency department teams being able to accept patients into our hospitals.
“Our colleagues continue to work to the best of their ability and ensure that all ambulance patients who are facing delays entering our emergency departments are reviewed by an A&E clinician and where appropriate treatments started.
“As a Lincolnshire system we are working together to do everything we can to reduce the burden on our emergency pathways, whilst ensuring that we can continue to offer emergency care to the people of Lincolnshire when they need it.”
EMAS declared its first-ever critical incident between January 6 and 8 due to record demand.
Other health services were requested to help alleviate the pressure on it after all other options had been exhausted.
